Angels and Demons
by Kulmanari
Summary: Zack and Cody would have died at age twelve if not for The Strange Man who offered them life in exchange for servitude. Now eighteen years old, the boys find themselves questioning the missions they are given amidst the changes happening to their bodies.
1. The Choices We Make

**Prologue**

"The Choices We Make"

_I'm spinning out of control  
Out of control  
I'm spinning out of control  
Out of control  
Where should I go?  
What should I do?  
I don't understand what you want from me  
Cause I don't know  
If I can trust you  
I don't understand what you want from me_

"_Out Of Control" by Hoobastank_

Inside downtown Boston Metro Hospital two young innocent boys had been handed a very cruel fate and they now helplessly fought for their lives because of it. Zack and Cody Martin were only twelve years old and they had done nothing more to deserve this than be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but it had been unavoidable and there was no use trying to blame anyone. How could they have avoided going to school where the outbreak of a deadly new strain of the flu virus had occurred upon its grounds?

It took a few days for the manifesting symptoms to be recognized for what they truly were, and by then it was too late. By the time Zack and his twin brother had been taken to the hospital there were already over a dozen students and school faculty infected with the virus and only then was the entire campus put under quarantine. The CDC and local health agencies were working overtime to contain the virus and keep it from spreading. So far they had been successful, but the damage was already done and now the twins lie in their hospital beds slowly dying.

Cody was passed out, but he was far from sleeping peacefully. He had only fallen asleep from pure exhaustion because the extreme pain that he was in had been keeping him awake. The doctor in charge of them had deemed it too dangerous to give them any kind of painkillers and so they suffered through the entire ordeal.

Zack was awake however, his eyes half open staring at the folds in his bed sheets as he tried to ignore his own pain. His airways were filling with mucus, making it harder and harder for him to breathe. Despite the tubes stuck in his nostrils supplying him with fresh oxygen, each painful breath was becoming more and more labored with each wheezing sound corresponding to the slow rise and fall of his chest. He was also well aware that his blood cells and immune system were being obliterated by the infection inside of him, littering his veins and arteries with debris which were slowing choking off the supply of blood running through his body. His blood pressure was slowly rising and his skin growing paler as less and less blood and vital fluids were delivered to where it needed to go. The deadly new flu virus was tearing him apart from the inside and the debris and wreckage of the battle was piling up and choking the life out of him.

There were many things that people think about when they're close to death and for Zachary Martin it was no different. His fear of death made him jump around from memory to memory and analyze his actions trying to figure out if he'd made the right choices in his life and had been a good person. He wasn't so sure about his short time spent living at the Tipton Hotel with his mother and brother, causing all kinds of mayhem and trouble in his wildly exuberant youth. All of his pranks were just about a boy being a boy weren't they? Most of his fear was not really about death, but where he'd go after he passed away from this world. Was he a good enough person to go to a good place with Cody or would he be cast down into hell with the rest of the evil?

Glancing around the room since he was thinking of his family, Zack looked at Cody who was still asleep although he was tossing and turning in his pain induced nightmares becoming entangled in the white hospital sheets. At the far end of the isolation room where the brothers were quarantined was a sealed entrance and next to it a small observation area with a window looking in upon them. Zack knew that they had just been checked on by the medical staff and so there was no on in the room now and only one person looking in on them from the window. He gave his mother a small smile, though he wasn't sure if she saw it, and he yearned to be held by her right now as odd as that sounded. Normally he was trying to get away from her affection and become more independent, but right now he was afraid and powerless and the only thing that had ever made him feel better when he was like that was her.

* * *

Carey Martin stood quietly behind the glass window that separated her from her twin sons. She wanted nothing more than to be with them right now, holding their hands and telling them that everything would be alright even though she knew that that was a lie. Everything would not be alright. At only twelve years old Zack and Cody had been handed a cruel fate when they contracted a deadly new strain of the flu virus at their middle school which was now closed until further notice. The doctors in charge and a representative from the CDC called it a terminal illness. There was no vaccine. There was no cure. No hope…

"Have you thought about my offer?" The Strange Man asked her, seeming to appear out of thin air and pulling her out of her concerned thoughts. Carey didn't know his name, but the nickname that she had given him seemed fitting enough.

"You want to offer me a contract that you won't give me the details to. I don't even know what I'm agreeing to..." Carey said staring into the isolation room where her sons rested and slowly died. Cody was passed out, but Zack's eyes were only half closed. Half open, Carey corrected herself trying to be optimistic. She was trying to think of everything as a glass half full, not empty. Zack's eyes passed from her, to Strange and then he tilted his head to look at his sleeping brother beside him. When he looked back at her there was nothing in his eyes except love and complete trust in her.

"Then I shall give you the details you seek...You may want to sit down." Strange paused for a minute waiting for her to sit, but when she refused he continued. "At three forty pm, two days from now, your sons will hold each others hands and exchange a few words of comfort in a short break from their delirium when they realize that the end is near. Seventeen minutes later at three fifty seven Zack will have to watch his twin brother stop breathing. Four minutes later at four oh one Zack follows Cody into death. If you accept my contract Zack and Cody will be coming home from school with nothing more worrisome than their homework at four o'clock two days from now..."

"What kind of choice do you think this is? Of course I have to accept!" Carey cried in exasperation. She'd known that the boys didn't have long to live, but for Strange to tell her the exact time of their deaths made her want to grab onto any possibility, any chance or way to save them that much more quickly. She felt like time was bearing down on her and if she didn't do something quick, she would lose her sons forever.

"Think carefully Carey Martin. If you accept then their lives will be spared and they will grow up into fine gentlemen, but be warned that from this moment on they will work for me as long as they live." Strange replied, effortlessly avoiding her question and giving her nothing but a firm ultimatum. Not even his face displayed any hint as to what he meant, but the tone of voice he used told her that he was not lying.

"What kind of work?" She asked, trying to get any information out of him that she could because even though she was ready to fully agree, she knew that once she did he would probably never talk to her again.

"They will know, in time. It does not concern you though. Do you accept?" His tone made her instincts scream at her not to accept, that he was deceiving her in some way and that he didn't have her sons best interests in mind, merely what they could do for him.

"Yes…" The word spoken so softly felt so heavy and carried with it a deep sense of finality like there was no going back. She'd agreed to let him save her twins' lives, but it almost seemed like he was saving them for his own purposes. It was like she had said earlier…what kind of a choice was this?

"Then it is done. Enjoy the rest of your life with your sons Carey Martin."

* * *

Zack looked around as he heard the door to the quarantine room make a soft thudding noise as it closed behind the Strange Man. He was of average height, had short black hair that was lightly gelled back and light brown eyes. Nothing about him telegraphed that he was different from other men in their late twenties, he simply looked like a professional businessman dressed in a black monkey suit. Was he a doctor? Was he someone from the CDC come to tell them that there was hope?

"Who are you?" Zack asked as he tried to sit up, his voice was hoarse and very low. He coughed and felt a bit of mucus rise up his throat as his head started spinning from trying to sit up and only managed to prop himself up on his elbows. Strange reached over and dragged Cody's bed closer to Zack leaving a gap just big enough between them for him to stand in. It was a curious move and made Zack wonder at what Strange was doing, but he was not yet threatened by his actions.

"You are going to die Zachary," Strange said matter of factly, looking down upon him realizing that he was awake. Zack was feeling a little fresh after an obvious comment like that and decided to reply with a smart ass remark.

"No shit."

"You can't very well do all of the good work that I have planned if you both are dead. Your mother has given me your souls so therefore I can give you life, for a price," Strange continued, ignoring Zack's tone.

"What price?" He asked, not bothering to doubt that this man could give him and Cody their lives back. There was something different about him. Some strange feeling that he couldn't place. Strange untangled the sheets that were entwined around Cody's arms and upper body and then lifted his white hospital shirt up to his neck exposing the pale skin of his chest. Next he placed his right hand against his brother's chest and then closed his eyes. Seconds later Cody's eyes sprang open and wildly looked around the room before he loudly inhaled a deep breath. Cody's body nearly jumped up off of his bed before crashing back down and only when he lay still did Strange release him.

"You want to live don't you Zachary?" Strange asked, turning his back on Cody who was just now sitting up, breathing normally and looking around in confusion. Right before his very eyes Zack saw the color return to his brother's face. Strange held out his hand over Zack and waited, locking eyes with him. As a spasm of pain rolled through his body, Zack pulled his shirt up and Strange's hand lowered onto his chest like it had Cody's. There was nothing for a few seconds and then Zack suddenly felt like he'd just stepped into a shower so cold that it had stolen his breath and made him gasp for air. Already he could feel himself breathing easier and then an electrifying tingle raced through his body making him jump a little bit, almost like he'd had a defibrillator used on him.

As Strange let go of him and stepped back, Zack could feel himself becoming comfortably warm and felt the blood return to his ice cold fingertips and toes. He felt his strength returning, like one feels after a good meal, a shower and eight hours of rest. Zack felt fine, in fact he felt better than fine.

Zack looked up at Strange, a million questions on his mind, only to discover that he was nowhere to be found. The door to the quarantine room remained shut. Who was Strange and where had he vanished to? How had he vanished without a trace for that matter?

Zack and Cody came to stand facing each other. They didn't say a word, they just looked at their mirror images and a moment of understanding passed between them. Something had just happened to them. Something they couldn't explain. Something powerful. While they were both extremely grateful to be completely healthy again, they also knew that they weren't the same innocent troublemaking boys anymore. They were more than that now…

And so it came to be that the twins were soon released from isolation and given a clean bill of health. The medical staff were so happy that the boy's immune systems had completely fought off the virus, or so they believed anyway, and none of them seemed to find anything odd in their instant and complete recovery. They were largely left alone and allowed to return home and grow up into fine young gentlemen just as Strange had said they would, but there was always a nagging feeling in the back of both Zack and Cody's minds. It was a feeling that said that their ordeal was just beginning…

* * *

**A/N:** So there you have it folks. With In This Memory complete, I've started this story and I'm hoping that it will be just as good as my two big stories already completed. I had a hard time writing Carey's part after being so used to doing it from Zack or Cody's 3rd Person POV, so that is my only regret in the quality of the prologue.

Let me know how you liked my grim description of the boy's situation and their unexpected savior. Now the question is what work do the boys have to do and who is the Strange man?


	2. A Strange Job

** Chapter 1**

**"A Strange Job"**

_  
Money, sex in full control, look, big brother is watching you,  
Unlock your brain and save your soul,  
No more limits, no more curfew  
Life in the perfect system,  
Take a stand and fight for freedom  
Keep the faith, you gotta keep the faith  
You'd better keep the faith and run away_

_"Run Away" by Real McCoy_

Several years later Zack stood inside the house that he and his brother had just broken in to. He picked up a strange looking crystal knickknack that had been sitting on the coffee table next to the recliner in the living room and studied it. His distorted reflection mixed with the image of the large kitchen behind the object and with a shrug he set it back down. The house belonged to Mr. Ross, an important public servant with intentions to run for state governor in the upcoming elections. Unfortunately for him, his wife and daughter had just been killed in a car accident earlier that morning on their way to the daughter's school.

It was late afternoon now judging by the fading golden light streaming through the house's front windows, casting long shadows across the polished wooden floor. The twins had come here right after they had been released from school themselves, broken in through the back door and were now waiting for the eventual arrival of a grief stricken Mr. Ross.

"It's been two hours!" Cody complained from just outside the kitchen where he was sitting at the dining room table sipping at the last of his Mt. Dew soda. Zack peered out the front windows at the empty driveway once more before going over to join his brother.

"Strange said it would take awhile," Zack stated calmly, pulling a chair some distance from the table, sitting down and propping his feet up on the edge of the table. Strange had met them during lunch to tell the twins of the work he wanted them to do. He'd sat at their table giving the twins their job and answering several questions about the details of the work before he left them. No one else at school seemed to have noticed that he had ever been there.

"I've got so much homework to do," Cody muttered, thumping the bottom of the soda bottle against his lower lip just to give himself something to do.

"You could have done it here while we were waiting," Zack pointed out, letting his eyes slowly close. He was tired from staying up late last night. No matter what miracles had been worked on them to save their lives all those years ago and no matter how much they had changed Zack still enjoyed staying up late and sleeping in as long as possible. He didn't see Cody glare at him in protest.

"I can't concentrate here."

"Sucks to be you," Zack replied, feeling the soda bottle bounce off his head a moment later when Cody playfully threw it at him. The sound of a car pulling into the driveway out front made Zack open his eyes and stand up along with Cody. They returned their chairs to where they had been and retreated around the corner into the hallway that led to all of the bedrooms and a spacious office.

The front door opened and shut, admitting a man who stepped heavily across the hard wood floor. There was a gentle thud as the man set down his suitcase before he continued forward into the kitchen. Mr. Ross was crying Zack noted, taking in the defeated looking appearance of the public servant from where he and Cody were hidden in the shadow of the hallway.

As Mr. Ross opened the doors of his oversized fridge, Zack silently crept forward and stood behind one of the doors to Ross's left waiting to be discovered. Strange hadn't told them to do this, but it was how Zack and Cody operated these days. They were still pranksters at heart and the twins would get a laugh from surprising the man like this later when they left. It was such a Hollywood cliché. Ross emerged from the fridge with a beer in his hand, closed the doors and let his forehead crash against the freezer door as he moaned in grief.

"That won't get your family back," Zack announced his presence, indicating the bottle in the man's hand. Ross jumped in surprise, the bottle slipped from his hand and smashed into pieces at his feet.

"Who are…? What are…?"

"We're just figments of your imagination," Cody announced his presence, emerging from the shadows and walking around so that he stood on the other side of Mr. Ross from Zack.

"I'm calling the cops if you two don't leave now!"

"I think not," Cody muttered crossing his arms.

"Look Mr. Ross, we're not here to hurt you or steal anything," Zack started to calm him down, watching in a detached manner as Ross attempted to back away from them so they were both in front of him, rather than surrounding him.

"What do you hooligans want? Money?"

"We want to give you your family back sir." This made him freeze and stare at Zack in disbelief. Then Ross pointed at the round.

"They were taken from me! I'll never get them back!" Cody stepped forward and gently grabbed a hold of his arm, rotating it to make him point at the ceiling.

"It was their time, so he says," Cody indicated the direction that Ross was pointing before making him point at the ground again, "But he thinks that's all a load of crap and he's willing to give you your family and your whole life back to you."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Do you want your family back Mr. Ross? Yes or no?" Zack asked quietly.

"Oh god yes, I wan…" Ross started to say before Cody kicked his feet out from underneath him. The man crashed onto the floor and lay there with a stunned expression on his face.

"Don't say that name!" Cody hissed.

"You can have your wife and daughter back sir, for a price." This was it Zack mused, the climax of their meeting where he would either accomplish Strange's mission or fail it miserably. He hoped that he and Cody had given a good enough performance to influence the public servant.

"What price?"

"You will run for state Governor,"

"I…I was only thinking about doing that. I don't have a chance at winning."

"You will win, we shall see to that. But when you do, you will work for the same person we do. You will accomplish the tasks that he gives you. That is the price," Zack said with finality, pulling the man to his feet.

"I don't believe you…"

"Then you don't want your family back?"

"I want them back more than anything."

"Then you shall have them. Don't forget our deal Mr. Ross," Zack said dangerously as he and Cody walked to the back of the house. The sound of a car pulling into the driveway could be heard, then car doors slammed shut and the front door opened. A woman's voice was heard talking and then an excited reply came in the form of a little girl's voice. Mr. Ross looked at the twins in puzzlement, looked towards the living room where his wife and daughter had just appeared setting down their things and then looked back. Zack and Cody were already gone. They had left just like Strange had left them on that day in the hospital many years ago.

* * *

The day after Zack and Cody had confronted Mr. Ross with Strange's proposal they were having lunch at school once again. Zack wondered if Strange would drop in on them again, it seemed that his favorite time to do this was lunch so that he could snag some of their fries or whatever else they were eating, but he was also preoccupied by thoughts of his girlfriend Max. Now for every teenage male thoughts about their girlfriend are usually a higher priority of their mental process, but Zack was thinking about her because she was sitting in his lap.

The two of them had finished eating a light lunch. Zack wasn't as hungry these days as he had been a couple of years ago and Max just wanted to eat small healthy portions as all girls overly self conscious about their appearance do. When they finished, they had walked from their outdoor table to sit in the shade cast by the cafeteria building on the grass. Max sat in Zack's lap and lie against him with her head buried between his right shoulder and neck and he was returning the affection by having his arms wrapped gently around her with his hands resting in her lap. The smell of her strawberry scented shampoo filled his nostrils and the smoothness of her skin where his arms touched hers was incredible. She was really turning him on and sitting on his lap, she noticed.

"Someone's getting happy," Max teased him, twisting in his arms so that she could kiss him on the neck and work her way up to his lips where she held him for a long moment. Every kiss sent an electric tingle up and down his body and made his heart speed up. Suddenly the end of the school day seemed so far away.

"Can you blame me?" Zack asked softly, caressing her sides with his fingertips feeling the shape of her body underneath her shirt. Max just giggled, "Let's do it now."

"You want to skip the rest of the day?"

"I wouldn't mind. All I can think of is you right now," Zack answered honestly, all thoughts about school pushed out of his mind by the beauty he held in his arms. He wanted her so badly right now and he could tell that she was aroused by his desire.

"My parents won't be home till six," Max whispered in his ear, her hot breath tickling the tiny hairs on his flesh. That was all he needed to hear.

"Sounds like a plan," Zack said, getting to his feet with Max. Together they snuck off to the seniors parking lot and drove off in Zack's bright red 2010 Ford Mustang.

* * *

Cody yawned deeply as he set his head down on the lunch table, the edge of his chin resting on the open textbook in front of him. He was really tired since he had had to stay up late last night to finish his homework after spending several hours waiting for Mr. Ross to come home and give him Strange's offer. After that, Zack had kept him up later than he would have liked to have been awake trying to figure out what Strange was up to. The boys had only been working for him for about a year now and while they weren't exactly sure what he was up to, they had several plausible ideas and last night Zack had tried to fit recruiting Mr. Ross into all of the scenarios they had come up with. Naturally he wanted Cody's opinion since there was no one else that he could talk to about the subject.

With a sudden abruptness Cody felt the touch of several fingertips against his neck just as he was starting to nod off. The icy touch made him become wide awake, feel refreshed and full of energy. Cody glanced up as Strange withdrew his hand and sat down next to him at the otherwise empty table.

"You going to eat that?" Strange asked, indicating the unopened bag of Pretzels lying on top of Cody's lunch tray. He simply shook his head and Strange snapped them up and began eating them slowly. Every time Cody saw him Strange had a different appearance, there was no use trying to describe him since he could look like a child, adolescent, adult or elderly person at will. The oddest thing though was that he could appear as both genders too and he liked to mess with Zack and Cody sometimes by coming to give them a job while in the form of a hot babe. Still, no matter what form he took, there was always something odd about him that gave it away if the twins looked hard enough.

"So what brings you here boss?" Cody asked, glad to feel rejuvenated again. One of Strange's powers was healing. He could mend wounds, cure illness and revitalize an exhausted person just by touching their flesh with his own.

"You two succeeded in your mission. Ross is running for Governor and I will see to it that he wins," Strange answered, once again reminding Cody that Strange had employees other than the twins who owed him their servitude.

"You didn't come here to tell me that though," Cody said with a touch of sarcasm. Strange liked having intelligent employees and demanded that they used their brain before brawn at all times. He wanted to have his motives and jobs questioned so that his employees knew exactly what he expected of them and to point out any flaws in the details of a plan.

"You're right. I merely came to tell you to pack for a few days of travel. I have an important mission for you two, but it is hinging on the outcome of another of my plans so you will have a few days until I call upon you again."

"I suppose you won't tell us what the mission is until the time to leave comes right?"

"Bingo," Strange exclaimed, crumpling up the empty snack bag and tossing it on Cody's empty tray. With a wave of his hand, the tray and all of the trash on it turned to ash and blew away in a sudden gust of wind that only seemed to hit the table's surface. Cody didn't even blink at the out of the ordinary sight. He'd seen far more crazy and random sights while in Strange's employ.

"Guess I should tell Zack to pack then. Where is he anyway?" Cody muttered, scanning the nearby tables for his brother but finding nothing. He never really worried about Zack's safety anymore seeing as they were some of Strange's best employees according to Strange himself and the guy had incredible healing powers after all.

"He and the girl Max left a few minutes ago in his car to go and have sex at her house," Strange said in such a detached tone that he might have been talking about the weather.

"Hey, hey, hey, I don't need to know the details!" Cody protested, rolling his eyes at the thought of his brother skipping school once again to make out with Max. Then again school didn't really matter…Zack didn't even try and he still got decent grades as well as never being missed by his teachers when he wasn't there. Just another perk of working for Strange.

"How are you feeling by the way?" Strange asked as he stood up to leave.

"A little weird, but I'm fine. I suppose you won't tell me what's happening to us either?" Cody asked, referring to what Strange had done to them in the hospital when they lie close to death several years ago. He had done more than just heal them. He'd given them something, and now that something was taking hold inside of both twins. Cody could feel it underneath his skin, wrapped around his bones and snaking its way through his muscles. It was a very disconcerting feeling, but so far it wasn't painful and Strange assured him that it would do him no lasting harm.

"You will know in time." Came the predictable answer.

"Figures."

"My time is very much in demand, I must be going. See you soon Cody Martin." Strange walked off into the crowd of students departing the cafeteria as the bell sounded to resume classes.

"I'm not going anywhere." Cody muttered to himself, packing up his stuff and heading off to his next class.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry it took so long to get a new chapter up. I've been busy working on Reflections In Time lately and enjoying my time off. I've hit a bit of writers block with Reflections, so I swapped over to this story in hopes I could clear it up.

So...what conclusions can you draw from this chapter? Who is The Strange Man? Where does he get these powers from? What is the purpose behind all of these missions that he gives the boys and his other employees? Who are his other employees and will the boys ever meet them? Where are they going for their next mission and what is happening inside of the twin's bodies? Stay tuned for more!!!

P.S. I meant to explain Zack owning a brand new car at eighteen after it was mentioned, but I thought that would ruin his and Max's moment so I excluded it. As Strange's employees the boys have astounding luck for acquiring material objects that they want. For example they have bought things like cell phones and Ipod's and those charges never show up on their mother's credit card or the service continues on without collecting any form of payment. Zack, Cody and Carey went to buy a used car for the boys to share and when Zack merely asked to look at a Mustang he ended up getting it and Cody got a vehicle of his own. The salesman never collected or setup any form of payment, but everything else about the purchase was legit.


	3. Off Duty

**Chapter 2**

**"Off Duty"**

Traffic was unusually light that afternoon on the interstate as Cody Martin drove home to the Tipton in a rather roundabout way. He was feeling dull, even a bit empty and craved some excitement. Now with fifteen miles ahead of him and his brand new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, a gift indirectly given to him by Strange just like Zack's Mustang GT, Cody was ready to have a little bit of fun before his exit came up. Glancing around him at his fellow drivers he smirked at the thought of them all just cruising along at sixty five with an open road before them. Cody reached over to his stereo and pressed 'Play' before dropping his right hand on top of the shifter and putting the Lancer into Sport Mode.

_I must have dreamed a thousand dreams  
Been haunted by a million screams  
But I can hear the marching feet  
They're moving into the street_

White smoke appeared behind the car from burning rubber as it leapt forward in response to Cody pushing the gas pedal against the floor. The engine roared happily at being freed from the mundane pace of the highway speed limit and he felt the acceleration push him into his seat. He shifted as both speed and rpm's climbed rapidly.

_Now, did you read the news today?  
They say the danger has gone away  
But I can see the fire's still alight  
They're burning into the night_

With one final shift, Cody's right hand rejoined his left on the steering wheel as he concentrated on driving, letting the competing noises of air passing over the car, the stereo blaring and the engine screaming at high rpm's in its top gear wash through him. People literally had no time to react as he blew past them at over one hundred forty miles per hour and still climbing. His heart was hammering in his chest as he navigated past slow moving traffic in the right lane by passing on the left and then had to swap over to the far right lane and use an exit only lane to swerve around a slow moving pack of cars all pacing each other rather than riding in the right lane like they should and leaving the left open for passing.

_There's too many men, too many people  
Making too many problems  
And there's not much love to go around  
Can't you see this is the land of confusion?_

Those last set of lyrics were so true in present day America. It was surprising that the county hadn't fallen apart yet with the aftermath of the economic recession still impacting millions of Americans nationwide. Most of the problem was coming from the poor leadership of politicians everywhere and how mired the country was in complacency, tradition and various conflicting laws impeding progress. Cody felt the Lancer wobble slightly as he shot through the middle lane between two tractor trailers at one hundred fifty five miles per hour now.

_This is the world we live in  
And these are the hands we're given  
Use them and let's start trying  
To make it a place worth living in_

The engine whined in protest as Cody let off the gas and let the car coast for a moment. He had been so self absorbed in driving and hadn't really been listening to the stereo until one of the lines shocked him back to reality. '_To make it a place worth living in…'_ was the line he recognized. The Strange Man had said the very same thing to Cody and his brother when he came to them to deliver onto them their first mission. He let his mind wander back to that event as the Lancer bled off the last of its triple digit speed.

_Oh, superman, where are you now?  
When everything's gone wrong somehow?  
The men of steel, I hate these men of power  
I'm losing control by the hour_

"The world is crumbling around you and it will have to come crashing down before progress can be made. This existence is going to get a lot worse before it gets better, but if you serve me faithfully and loyally then together we can make it a place worth living in." Strange had told them, managing to get them alone for a moment, over a year ago on the twin's seventeenth birthday when they had been out celebrating with their family and friends. Cody pondered his choice of words there and wondered if there wasn't a hidden meaning in the song. Strange always did this to them, leaving them hints and clues as to what his grand scheme was but never outright telling them. He had a few ideas…maybe he should have another long talk with Zack about their suspicions.

_This is the time, this is the place  
So we look for the future  
But there's not much love to go around  
Tell me why this is the land of confusion_

Cody merged over into the exit lane that would lead him back to the Tipton still in excess of ninety and glanced up in the rearview mirror as something caught his eye. The flashing red and blue lights of a Massachusetts State Trooper closed in on him. He simply smirked, feeling like a bad ass, as he down shifted and brought the Lancer down to a more acceptable speed for getting off the highway. There was nothing to worry about.

"Go away…" He muttered, applying some brake and downshifting again as the end of the off ramp neared where it merged into a main city street. Amazingly the Trooper's lights turned off and the car moved back out into the traffic of the highway as the law enforcement officer suddenly found something more important to do. Working for Strange was definitely a good thing for two teenage boys with high powered cars and a desire to play with them from time to time. He and his brother would often race, pushing their vehicles and driving skill to the edge when they were bored.

_I won't be coming home tonight  
My generation will put it right  
We're not just making promises  
That we know we'll never keep_

On that slightly disturbing note, Cody turned off the stereo and let his mind wander a bit as he ended up in a traffic snarl less than a mile from the Tipton. He wondered what this next mission would be and whether or not it would help the twins add another piece to the massive puzzle Strange had handed them. Would they some day learn who this man was and who he worked for? Would they learn what purpose all of their missions had? Most of all though Cody wondered what was going to happen to him as he felt the muscles in his arms contract and expand suddenly of their own accord, making him grimace in discomfort.

* * *

Twenty minutes later Cody rode the service elevator up from the Tipton's underground parking garage pleased to have gotten a prime spot for a change. His 'strange' luck didn't extend to getting a good parking spot, or even a spot at all apparently. The service elevator deposited him into one of the guest lounge's just behind the main lobby. The Tipton's main elevators didn't go down to the parking garage so as not to inconvenience the guests staying there with extra wait times, the majority of which didn't bring their own vehicles or simply used the subway to get around rather than have to deal with Boston's notorious traffic.

Cody hitched his backpack higher on his shoulder and made his way into the main lobby. The brilliant sunlight streamed in through the hotel's large windows and the revolving door at the center of the main entrance warped and bent the light as it spun lazily in circles, making quite an interesting display of color on the lobby floor. It wasn't much past four o'clock he noted, seeing that Nia had just come on shift at the Tipton's candy counter. It wasn't named appropriately since the place also sold newspapers, magazines, drinks, other snacks and many more types of amenities that guests would want to buy.

"Ah! Cody Martin, you have a package." Marion Moseby announced from the check in desk where he managed the day shift in the lobby and the entire hotel as a whole. The Tipton's general manager had been an unfriendly man when the boys had first met him, due in part to their own rambunctious antics as children, but he had softened over the years as Zack and Cody grew up into more mature people and pursued interests other than causing havoc within his hotel. He went over and retrieved the white cardboard envelope package which was complete with the 'FedEx Ground' in the corner without even bothering to glance at the sender's information in from of the other man.

"Thanks Mr. Moseby. See you tomorrow!" Cody thanked the manager and crossed the lobby to the elevators. He exchanged a short polite conversation with Nia while waiting for the elevator to arrive. When the thing finally arrived and the doors closed on him as he rode up to the twenty third floor did Cody finally glance at the sender's information.

_Mr. Strange_

_ 666 Strange Lane_

_ Strange Place, Nowhere, 12345_

"So original…" He muttered under his breath as he stepped off onto his floor, tucking the envelope under his arm as he fished his room key card out of his wallet. Cody entered the suite immediately taking notice that his mother and brother weren't there. He dropped his backpack next to the dinner table and carried the envelope into the kitchen with him. Briefly examining it confirmed his suspicions that it was more than just your ordinary shipping envelope and that it had powerful magic imbued in it. Cody still didn't understand how Strange's magic worked, but now wasn't the time to dwell on that.

He pulled out a sharp steak knife from a drawer under the counter and held it in his right hand. Cody carefully pressed the tip into his left index finger wincing as he felt the minor pain of drawing his own blood. Setting the knife back down, Cody ran his bloody finger along the envelope seal like Strange had shown him how to do leaving behind a smear of red blood on the white cardboard. The seal instantly started smoking as Cody's blood burnt through the magic in the package until the spell lifted and it was safe to open. He quickly cleaned off the knife, returning it to its drawer, and sucked on the small cut tasting the coppery flavor of his own blood before withdrawing the miraculously healed finger.

Cody dumped the contents of the envelope onto the counter and quickly sifted through them. The first thing that caught his attention were a pair of plane tickets. Apparently he and Zack were flying to Washington D.C. at the end of this week on Thursday night with a return flight of Sunday night which would effectively eat up their entire three day weekend. He rolled his eyes knowing how thrilled Zack would be.

Also included in the contents of the package was a slip of paper with a time and an address written on it, a map of the District of Columbia (as if Cody wasn't going to Google Map the address right away and check out the satellite view), a rental car conformation receipt and a newspaper clipping. The article was about a popular, yet somewhat eccentric elderly religious leader who didn't really hail to any particular faith. Apparently he was scheduled to address a large group of people who followed his unorthodox beliefs about the end of the world soon approaching and how real angels and demons walked among mankind in secret.

He quickly gathered together all of the contents and put them back in the envelope which he tossed in the top drawer of his bedroom nightstand. Cody went back out into the kitchen, grabbed a fresh Mt. Dew and sat down at the dining table. He pulled his backpack over to him and immediately dove into his homework in order to take his mind off their next mission.

Zack and Cody had done a lot for Strange in the year that they had worked for him, including influencing people to attain positions of power, blackmail people in power to make them step down, pick up or deposit packages they weren't allowed to open and occasionally steal items. Through all of this Strange had assured them that they would be safe from repercussion, much like Cody had avoided getting in trouble with the State Trooper this afternoon, so long as they served him loyally. He had always assured them that what they were doing was for the greater good and so the twins had dutifully carried out the work that he assigned them.

Besides his mysterious powers and frightening demeanor, Zack and Cody served him because they owed their lives to him. They should be dead right now, but instead they were enjoying a good life with all the creature comforts, loving family, friends and opportunities that they could ask for. Not to mention that their missions were often interesting and took them many different places around the United States.

But this was the first time that Strange had asked something like this from them. There was no doubting what the black 'x' made by a sharpie marker over the image of the religious leader's picture in the news paper clipping meant. Strange was asking them…no, Strange was ordering them to kill him.

* * *

**A/N:** What is going on here eh? I'll leave it all to speculation for now, let me know what you think of this chapter by leaving a review!

I've updated this so quickly because from the traffic I've been getting, Angels and Demons is my top story with over double the amount of readers than Reflections In Time (which I will still work on).

Well, stay tuned folks. There's more to come!


	4. Normal No More

**Chapter 3**

**"Normal No More"**

After finishing his homework Cody went to lie down on his bed put in his Ipod's ear buds. He closed his eyes and allowed his body to relax as he listened to his favorite playlist on a low volume setting. Cody let himself get lost in the music, forcing all thoughts of his next mission and the religious preacher's image out of his memory, and subsequently lost track of time. It came as a surprise when a soft warm hand gently caressed the side of his face. He opened his eyes and saw his mom standing over him.

"Hey mom," Cody greeted, pulling out his ear buds as she sat down on the edge of his bed.

"I'm sorry sweetheart. I didn't mean to wake you." Carey said soothingly, brushing several strands of golden blond hair out of his eyes. He looked her in the eyes for a moment, thinking how different he and Zack were. Zack would pull away from her touch, believing that he was too macho and manly to accept this display of affection. Cody however craved his mother's love, it made him feel many years younger and helped remind him of a time when things were simpler.

"It's ok, I wasn't sleeping."

"Well, since you're awake what do you want for dinner? I was thinking about ordering something before I leave for my six o'clock show and have dinner with you guys at seven."

"Pizza? Chinese?" Cody suggested not really minding what his mother chose. He wasn't hungry right now either. Carey looked at the ceiling for a moment thoughtfully.

"We haven't had Chinese in awhile. What do you guys want?" Glancing over at Zack's bed, Cody realized that his twin still wasn't home and that his mom figured Cody would know what to order for both of them.

"Um…I'll have Beef Lo Mien and Zack will probably want Beef and Broccoli," Cody answered with the same menu choices that the twins had made the last time they ordered Chinese.

"Ok honey. I'll go order it and I'll leave the money on the counter." Carey planted a kiss on his forehead and then walked out of the bedroom. Cody just stayed where he was, not bothering to put his ear buds back in as he would have to keep an ear out for the delivery man. He heard his mother order dinner and then leave for her early evening show and then the suite was silent except for the soft buzz of music near his ears and his own slow breathing. Cody wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he soon heard the front door open and someone walk into the room.

"Hey twenty bucks!" Zack exclaimed from the kitchen. He rolled his eyes.

"Drop it! That's for dinner," Cody commanded, not bothering to get up. Zack would be in the bedroom soon enough. Sure enough Zack's backpack sailed through the door, bounced off the empty bed and crashed into the floor.

"Sup Cody?" Zack said by way of greeting as he entered the bedroom, considered Cody for a moment and then flopped down next to him. Cody pushed his brother off of his bed and Zack mocked an injury after he hit the floor.

"Dude go take a shower, you reek of sex," Cody told him as he finally sat up. There was a time when he could have been too embarrassed to say something like that to his brother, or think about its implications, but they'd both grown up a lot over the last few years. Zack stood up, pinched the collar of his t-shirt, pulled it forward and took a couple of sniffs before letting go and shrugging.

"I guess I do. You should try it some time." Zack taunted, pulling some clothes out of the laundry basket next to his bed that had been sitting there for almost two weeks. Cody reached out with his leg and kicked his brother in the thigh in retaliation. He and Barbara were very much as intimate as Zack and Max were, but they were just more discrete about it. Without bothering to retaliate himself, Zack left the room with a change of fresh clothes and took a ten minute shower which was his longest ever Cody mused.

While he waited for his brother, Cody pulled out the envelope Strange had sent him and spread out the contents of it on his bed. He leaned back, reached behind him and pulled his laptop over to his side. After a moment, Cody was punching the address which was written on a blank sheet of paper into Google Maps. It took him to a suburb on the outskirts of the D.C. area and zooming in to street level with satellite view he saw that the address was just one of many houses in the neighborhood. He considered this information for a moment, wondering whether this was the preacher's house and if that place was where the twins would have to assassinate him.

Eventually Zack came back into the bedroom freshly showered and wearing fresh clothes, more or less, with his hair still damp and clinging to his head. He smelled strongly of Axe body wash which he preferred to use, while Cody normally stuck with Irish Spring, which was a refreshing change for the normally anti-shower twin. They both had grown up though and Zack could no longer go a week or two without showering like he used to, though he still tried to skip a few days here and there. With a glance at what he was doing, Cody saw Zack's expression change from a detached calmness to a dreadful acceptance that there was work to be done.

"So where we going now?"

"Washington D.C."

"Never been there, what's the mission?" Zack asked now all business, sitting down on the edge of the bed and looking at the plane tickets.

"We've got to be here at this time on this day," Cody indicated to the map on his laptop and holding the piece of paper in his free hand so that Zack could see, "And this guy apparently needs to be silenced." Zack took the newspaper clipping from him and studied the man's picture for a moment as though he were trying to burn the image into his mind.

"No one ever said these missions were going to be easy," Zack finally said, setting the paper down and looking at the ground.

"He's never asked us to kill anyone…" Cody trailed off. They were both startled by knocking at the suite's door and it took Cody a second to remember that it was just the delivery guy. He got up, leaving Zack to absorb the weight of their next mission and paid for dinner.

* * *

_Cody was barely conscious, the pain in his body keeping him awake. His nose was stuffed up, mouth dry, throat sore and a near constant flow of mucus building up in his throat made it hard to breathe. He took a couple of wheezing breaths, not getting as much air as he would have liked and mustered up the strength to cough in order to break up the mucus and then swallowed it to clear his throat. This proved to be painful as the vibrations triggered a series of sharp pains racing through his head. Cody hated being sick, he felt so empty and drained of life._

_Someone was in the hospital room with him and his brother. Cody could faintly hear a voice that he'd never heard before, but made him uneasy, and Zack replying in kind. He was distantly aware of the bed moving and a presence above him. The bed sheets entangling his arms and legs were gently untangled and as his hospital shirt was lifted, Cody opened his eyes a crack to see the man standing over him. He wanted to scream at what he saw, but his mouth just didn't seem to work properly. The man's hand came down and pressed against his bare chest and rather than going away, as he remembered it, the pain increased ten fold._

* * *

Zack was jolted wide awake by Cody's screams of pain. There was no grogginess or lack of comprehension caused by waking up unexpectedly. The sound was so horrible that he felt like he'd been zapped by a live electrical wire. Zack quickly rolled out of his bed, throwing his sheets off of him in the same motion and came to his brother's side at the same time that he deduced that there was no one else in the room causing him this pain.

"Cody!" Zack grabbed his twin's shoulders and shook him, thinking that he was having a nightmare or something. Then he realized that Cody was conscious and screaming out in pain, not terror. His skin had a bright red shade to it and was completely covered in sweat. What was wrong with him?

Zack felt so helpless as he watched his brother writhe in agony on the bed…He watched in horror as Cody's skin rippled all along his arms, legs and face like there was something moving underneath it. Upon touching his brother's extremely hot skin, he felt the ripples pass underneath his fingertips and noted that whatever was causing them felt as solid as flexed muscle. Cody suddenly grabbed onto Zack's forearm with surprising speed and strength as he looked up at him, eyes bulging from the pain.

There was a moment where Cody just held onto him like that, looking him in the eye, before he fell back on his bed and gave one final loud scream. His body seemed to visibly relax as the ripples stopped and he lay still for a moment, whimpering softly as tears streamed down his cheeks. It appeared that it was all over…

"Cody?" Zack inquired again, sitting down next to his twin and wiping the sweat drenched hair out of his eyes and off of his forehead. Cody's eye's opened a crack and looked at him.

"Water…" He croaked in a raspy voice barely above a whisper. Zack jumped up and tore into the main part of the suite, yanking the fridge open in seconds and grabbed a bottled water from the middle shelf. Zack noticed that his mother was nowhere to be found as he raced back into the bedroom. Cody didn't seem to have the strength to move so Zack held the bottle up to his twin's lips and let the water trickle into his mouth. When the bottle was half empty, Zack paused not wanting to over do it. For a moment Cody seemed to be feeling better, then he mustered up the strength to begin rolling out of bed.

"Bathroom…now!" He said urgently, answering Zack's unspoken question, accepting his help without second thought. Cody hobbled over to the bathroom as Zack bore most of his weight, nearly dragging him the short distance. Pushing him away, Cody dropped to his knees in front of the toilet and threw up. Zack looked away as his twin heaved several times, but not before he saw the bright red blood mixed in with everything else that was coming up.

"Just leave me here…I'll be alright," Cody finally said after he had finished.

"What do you mean you'll 'be alright'?" Zack asked, his voice heavily laden with concern and confusion about what was going on. His brother flushed the toilet and then propped his elbows on the seat, staring down into the clear swirling water replacing the mess he had put into it.

"I'm changing, I can feel it. Strange said it wouldn't do us permanent harm."

"Changing? How?"

"He said we'd know in time…" Cody answered unhelpfully.

"Isn't there anything that I can do?" Zack offered, feeling terrible that he could do nothing to ease his brother's extreme pain. There was no wound to bandage, no medicine to give him and nothing physically hurting him on the outside that Zack could remove. Cody looked at him with deep concern welling in his tear streaked eyes, surprising him with the amount of worry that that expression conveyed.

"Get ready…" Cody said, looking off in a random direction as he thought something through, "It's going to happen to you too."

"Do you know when?"

"No, sorry." Cody got shakily to his feet, seeming to think that he was done expelling the contents of his stomach and worked his way over to the sink, grabbing anything along the way to help him balance. He turned the water on and stuck his head partly into the sink bowl, letting the icy liquid clean away the bile on his lips and chin before washing his mouth out. Soon after Cody pulled his head away and splashed some water on his face. Zack handed him a towel to dry off with.

"Thanks…" Cody breathed into the towel as he dried his face, "I feel better now." He threw the towel down on the sink counter and walked into the living room. Glancing at the clock on the kitchen stove that half past eleven Zack realized why their mother wasn't here; she was doing a late performance tonight up until midnight. Cody plopped down on the couch, rubbed his temples for a moment and sighed deeply in relief.

"I don't think I can sleep right now," Cody muttered, reaching for the remote and flipping the television on.

"Same." Zack crashed next to his twin and watched as Cody cycled through the guide looking for something interesting to watch. Sometime before Carey came home from her performance Zack and Cody both felt their eyelids grow heavy, yawned and gave into the sleep that their bodies demanded they get. Zack fell asleep first sitting straight but comfortably leaned into the couch. Then Cody gave in, his position less comfortable made him slide sideways into his brother leaving his head resting on Zack's shoulder.

When Carey came home and saw her sons she felt an explosion of love ripple through her upon seeing such a cute sight. They were no longer her babies or little men. They were pretty much adults now, but they still got along as well as they had when they were younger. She was reminded of the deal she had made six years ago and seeing them now like this made her more certain than ever that she had made the right choice. Carey kissed both of them on the forehead before getting ready to go to sleep herself. She sat down next to Zack and leaned into him as well, wrapping her arm around behind his back and holding him gently longing for the days when he had been smaller and dependent on her.

* * *

**A/N:** Not much to this chapter other than building both twin's characters individually and the bond between them, some more details on their next mission and some kind of change happening to Cody.

Let me know how you liked it! Don't worry, the action is coming soon for this story, but in the meantime my action writing is in full swing with the next chapter of Reflections In Time which is almost done!

Laters!


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